Newcastle Jets head coach Clayton Zane has admitted he is hoping his side’s battling 1-0 victory against Brisbane Roar will give the club a platform on which to launch an assault on a top six finish.
After replacing Gary van Egmond as the Jets interim boss at the start of the year, Zane’s first seven games in charge failed to yield a victory as the club continued to languish near the foot of the A-League table and already all but ruled out of making the play-offs with some who bet on soccer.
Zane’s winless streak as Newcastle manager ended in impressive fashion, however, with the Jets collecting their third win over league-leaders Brisbane this season. A second-half penalty from Adam Taggart was enough to ensure the Jets came away from the Suncorp Stadium with a vital three points, winning their first league game since their last visit to Brisbane on December 20.
“It’s obviously good to get that one out of the way and not look at that stat any more over the past seven games,” Zane said.
“But more importantly I try and look at it from the players’ point of view, and it’s a big one for their belief and hopefully they can really take a big step forward now and start to believe that the (top) six is a definite possibility.”
While the betting odds still suggest the Jets face a tough task of getting into a top-six place by the end of the season, Zane will know those odds will significantly shorten if his side can follow up their win in Brisbane by going on a run of victories over the next couple of months.
